The latest figures relate to data collected in June and while some areas are producing in line with the earlier estimates released a month earlier, others have seen volumes revised downwards still further.

In Italy, production is expected to fall below the already low totals forecast in May. Spring frosts in the north-east of the country have had a more serious effect on production that was first thought. And losses of peaches and nectarines in the south have been confirmed at the levels detailed earlier. The upshot is that nectarines and peaches are forecast to decline by some 30 per cent on 2002 to 648,709 tonnes.

In Spain, Andalusia and Murcia show a slight decline in production with areas around Seville and Huelva showing the largest revision downwards of 20 per cent on earlier estimates. Bad weather at harvest has caused cracking and damage to fruit quality across the range of stone fruit. And in Murcia peach and nectarine production has been revsied downwards slightly.

Further north in Catalonia, hail in mid-May struck the Lerida area especially the lower Valle del Ebro. But increased yields in other parts of the region look set to make up the difference so that overall the forecast remains broadly in line with May's estimates.

In total, Spanish production is forecast to reach 620,000t of peaches and nectarines just three per cent down on 2002.

Forecasts for French peach, nectarine and apricot production are similar to those released at the original Europech' conference in May. Production of of peaches and nectarines is expected to show a decline of 22 per cent on 2002 at 350,000t. Losses are mainly in the Rhone-Alpes region where low temperatures to the north of Valence effectively destroyed 80,000t of peaches and nectarines, some 60 per cent of the total crop in the area.

Apricot production is expected to be 38 per cent below 2002 levels at 104,000t. Volumes of the fruit in the Rhone-Alpes area have been revised upwards slightly on earlier estimates. Nevertheless this still represents a loss of about 60 per cent of the total crop.

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